The high-profile divorce involving Yellowstone star (for now) Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner has sparked all manner of reports and rumors to date, all while the details are being hammered out by legal teams. Recently, it was claimed that Costner accosted a former guest house tenant for allegedly getting too close for comfort with Baumgartner while the actor was away filming. Now, that former tenant has spoken out about the situation, and he’s saying a lot of it has been overblown and doesn’t reflect the reality of his experience.
What Was Reported Prior
Tech entrepreneur Daniel Starr is said to have signed a lease in June 2022 for him and his four-year-old son to stay in the beachfront guesthouse that sits behind Kevin Costner’s massive mansion in Carpinteria, California. According to The Sun, things initially went smoothly, with Starr befriending the famous couple and their three children, and the tenant was perfectly happy with how things were going. It’s then reported that Starr and Baumgartner developed a closer relationship during times when Costner was traveling for filming, with the outlet saying that she was visiting the guest house on nearly a daily basis.
Around six months into the lease, it’s alleged that Baumgartner took issue with how Starr viewed the friendship, and didn’t want him to be staying there anymore. Costner supposedly found out about the strife and confronted the tenant, who is said to have wanted to remain on the property (which cost around $63,000 a month). After Starr allegedly refused to leave, legal teams reportedly got involved, which brought about a series of emails and letters going back and forth. In the end, Starr moved out of the guesthouse in March 2023, three months ahead of schedule.
What Daniel Starr Says Happened With Kevin Costner And Christine Baumgartner
Following the initial article going public, TMZ caught up with Starr to get his take on everything that went down, but the way he puts it, nothing of the sort actually went down. He first denied that he and Christine Baumgartner had any kind of sexual relationship, or anything that went beyond general friendliness.
Second, he said that there weren’t any actual confrontations with Kevin Costner, and that the two men don’t have any ill will against each other. He also described their own relationship as being that of a landlord/tenant nature, and that it didn’t go beyond. No distinct reason was given for why he did legitimately move out of the guesthouse three months earlier than the signed lease’s expiration date.
While he didn’t speak to the specifics of what may have caused Baumgartner to file for divorce in the first place, Starr said he hopes that the proceedings can happen with speediness and as little hostility as possible, for the sake of the children whose custody situation is also allegedly playing into a big part of the split.
Another sizable hiccup that’s been reported is Costner accusing Baumgartner of refusing to move out of the mansion that they shared for many years, while her lawyer claims he has no legal basis to kick her out. The actor is said to have specifically noted in their prenuptial agreement that he would maintain ownership of the home, given his earlier-in-life divorce from Cindy Silva resulted in him losing his house to her in accordance with an $80 million settlement. The Yellowstone star’s legal team has claimed he’s already put money into transitioning her out of the house, and is willing to pay the first year of her new lease or mortgage, on top of other fees.
While many details surrounding the divorce remain unknown, one of the court filings detailed Baumgartner's claim that Costner broke the divorce news to their three children via Zoom. That supposedly ten-minute exchange went against her wishes and proposed plan to tackle the topic via a longer-form conversation.
